It’s taken over a week for me to come to grips with what is going on with politics in the UK as well as Scotland. I do apologise for this, however, here goes.

Let’s get one thing straight right now; despite what many would have us believe, the SNP won the General Election in Scotland. To win 35 seats after winning the most seats in the Holyrood elections and making gains in the council elections too, I think is an incredible achievement. So to those who claim that indyref2 should be taken from the table, I’d simply say, “get stuffed”. The SNP will never have a clearer mandate than they do now.

However, I am absolutely furious with the likes of Tommy Sheppard, Kenny MacAskill and the rest who are claiming that Nicola Sturgeon should withdraw indyref2. Sheppard also makes the ridiculous claim that the Party needs to move further Left, ehm, no Tommy it doesn’t. If he’s not happy then he can leave. Simple as that. I’ve never had much time for him anyway.

I have been surprised at how quiet the leadership seems to be at the moment but I trust Nicola Sturgeon’s judgement. This is something I think the Party membership needs to do.

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If ever there was an emptier soundbite than ‘strong and stable leadership’ it has to be ‘divisive referendum’. It has been repeated so many times by Unionist Party leaders and their lackeys that I’m beginning to think that they genuinely are frightened of something. Perhaps they fear that the next time the result will be a victory for Yes. After all, if they are willing to commit the biggest act of economic suicide on a 52% – 48% vote carried out by 67% of the electorate, then any margin of a Yes win is acceptable. The great thing is…no one could contest it.

Supports for teams, countries, cakes, etc, everything can be divisive. Are elections not divisive? Of course they are, but that’s alright though, just don’t let Scotland have a referendum.

If you are a Green voter, I have one very simple plea…please, this time, vote SNP. We have seen a surge in Tory support at the expense of Labour and LibDems. If you truly are progressive then in this General Election, especially this one, let go of partisan politics and ensure a strong, Scottish voice is present at Westminster. That voice is not going to come from LiS, Tories or LibDems. It will be the SNP, support them and give them your vote.

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I am sitting here on the other end of a computer staring at a screen and I feel angry, no, make that…really angry. Why? Well, in all honesty, and I can’t believe that I am going to be so blunt here, but just how f*****g stupid do people in Scotland need to be that they are happy to tactically vote for a Tory candidate in order to stop an SNP candidate being voted in? Really! Please someone tell me! How stupid are they?

This Tory government are one of the most evil and incompetent government’s we have ever had and yet…and yet there are quite a number of clowns out there who are happy to vote for them. Their contempt for the administrations in Scotland, Ireland and Wales by not even discussing Brexit with them is breathtaking. Even now, they still have no idea what they are going to do. Oh yes, they posture and gesticulate to Europe, and for what? For May to openly admit that she will walk away with no deal if she has to. Already there are companies moving their successful businesses to an EU-based country. This is only going to increase. We are all going to suffer for this. But hey, let’s vote for them as long as it isn’t the SNP. If you vote for a Tory candidate then you support:

The Rape Clause

Infants losing their free meal at school

Old people having to use their houses as collateral for their care.

But…even more than that…you’re a traitor to your own country. Are you really happy to see Scotland being pulled out of the EU against her wishes in order to stay in the UK? Are you ready for the job losses, the economic collapse that will happen? Is the UK worth that much to you? Your own children’s, grand-children’s and their children’s futures will be very hard and for what? An incompetent Tory government and a UK that doesn’t care about you or your country.

Is it really so bad that the SNP are asking that once we have seen the Brexit deal that the people of Scotland should be able to decide if it’s for them by having another referendum? Is it really that bad?

The trouble is that the SNP have made it very easy for the other Parties to snipe at them because they have, by and large, been very good in not only Westminster, but Holyrood too. Yes, they have made some mistakes and not everything goes to plan, but, and this is a very big point I have to make here: they have protected the people of Scotland from the Bedroom Tax, Prescription charges, Uni fees and Winter Fuel Payments. The NHS in Scotland is the best performing in the whole of the UK. And still there are ungrateful gits out there moaning. Even today, Nicola Sturgeon pledged to protect the care for the elderly. So, I have an idea for the SNP (an idea which they’ll rightly ignore) stop protecting Scotland from the worst of this useless government. Introduce uni fees, prescription charges, means-test Winter-Fuel Payments and bring in the Bedroom Tax. Let the Scots take the full hit. Labour, Tories and LibDems won’t be able to moan because those are the very policies they defend by wanting Scotland in the UK. If those policies are good enough for the English and the Welsh then they’re good enough for the Scots.

You don’t know how good you have it in Scotland, you’re spoiled and it’s all thanks to successive SNP administrations. If you want something to moan about come and live down in England, that’ll shut you up. Actually it probably won’t, you’d still blame the SNP.

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Well it would seem that in Scotland, politically at least, the SNP have become the great unwashed. No-one wants to work with them. Arguably, we could agreed that the along with the Greens, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, these parties have worked either on the Left or centre Left. No any more. Labour and the LibDems seem to be rather happy working with the Tories. Take Aberdeen for example.

You may find these tweets by Guy Ingerson very helpful:

They have 4 Cllrs so could have supported SNP admin (19 Cllrs, 23 if Lib Dems had supported them)

All eyes are on Kezia Dugdale. What will she do. To her credit she did say no deals with any Party that supported austerity. If it were me I’d sack the lot of them. They’ll continue as independents or maybe even join the Tory Party. I don’t really care, I’m more interested in seeing if she has any moral backbone as a leader.

As for the people of Aberdeen, and really this is a country-wide issue. If you are stupid enough to vote for Tories and Labour then you’ll get what you deserve. You were all warned before the Local Elections. Unfortunately, the people in Aberdeen may pay a heavy price.

I’m intrigued by this suggestion from Lesley Riddoch. Is it possible? Can the SNP and Scottish Green Party have some kind of joint manifesto?

Personally, I remain unconvinced, not out of spite or hatred for either party, far from it. No, my doubt is there because I wonder what reaction this would get from the supporters of both.

The only question that both sets of supporters need to ask, in my opinion, is this: Do we really want independence? If the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’, then there really is only one choice and this is for both sets to vote for the SNP. In a WM general election the Green vote can only succeed in splitting the votes for pro-independence candidates.

Now, this may not serve democracy, in that choice is being limited, but should the Scottish Green Party sit this one out and urge their supporters to vote for the SNP? There are calls from Unionists for a Labour/LibDem/Tory attack on the SNP. To me, every single supporter of independence needs to support the SNP at this one general election. The ends will justify the means.

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Bloody hell, I take a few days off for Easter, and missed being able to comment on the great Holyrood boycott from Ruth and her mates. Ruth Davidson supporting the absolutely ghastly and inhumane rape clause. Then today, St Theresa of May, she of the ‘we are all as one‘ Party has gone and called a General Election in June.

Down here, in the office, they reckon that May has pulled a blinder and that this will neutralise the SNP in Scotland. Naturally…I disagree.

In a very short space of time, the people of Scotland need to answer just one question: what kind of country do I want Scotland to be?

If you are happy to be isolated in the world and tied like some third-rate appendage to England, then vote to stay in the UK.

If however, you want to live in: a forward looking, inclusive, progressive and modern country that makes its own decisions, then it has to be the SNP or the Green Party.

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During this last week I have learnt the value in not under-estimating people, on this particular occasion it happens to be my sever year old son.

Our eldest son is thirteen and is very bright, academically. However, recently we had a parents evening at the school of our youngest and had a really good talk with his teacher. We couldn’t have been happier at what we were told; he works hard, is really polite, but he is doing really well at his subjects.

He has a bit of a speech impediment and is left-handed, so at times he has found writing awkward. The quality of his hand-writing though has really improved and he loves English, both written and reading work. He is, we were told, a bright boy.

Maybe because he is our youngest, that we’ve treated him, at times, as if he is still a baby. Perhaps we’ve even unconsciously allowed his speech impediment influence the way we look at him? I don’t know. What I do know is that he is giving it his all at school and is a bright young man.